Raw Thoughts

Learn To Play ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ By Foster The People

Watch the video HERE

If you want to learn to play your favorite summer song from 2011, Foster the People’s, “Pumped Up Kicks,” check out the video!

But did you know that “Pumped Up Kicks” was really a fall song that came our in September 2010? The song is a sleeper hit, because it received airplay on alternative stations to support the initial release, but in mid-2011 the song picked up steam and began seeing noticeable airplay on hit radio stations. That makes this sleeper summer song a crossover hit as well.

The song has reached number 3 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight straight weeks, and according to Wikipedia, the song has been widely used in popular media since its release, including TV series such as Entourage and also in the 2011 films Friends with Benefits and Fright Night.

We at Raw Talent Guitar decided to try something new in our instructional video series this week for this hit song. In this video, Marc Quadagno, our Director of Media Relations and also your Tutorial Tuesday instructor, will play both the lead and rhythm parts. Then, using editing, we’ll lay the video and audio on top of one another so you can hear how the song comes together.

Look for a new instructional song each week. The first two weeks we gave you a two-part series to learn how to play Smells Like Teen Spirit followed by the solo from “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The solo is perfect for beginner guitar players up to advanced, and this week’s Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People has different layered parts to add depth.

Let Us Know What You Think.

Avril Lavigne & Boyfriend in Bar Brawl

We’ve always known Avril Lavigne plays guitar like a bad-ass (as we do here at Raw Talent Guitar), we didn’t know she can mix it up like one in a bar though. Seems the guitar playing star and her boyfriend, Brody Jenner, mixed it up in a bar in Los Angeles. Here is the article from MTV:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avril Lavigne and her boyfriend, former “Hills” star Brody Jenner, were reportedly in a bar scuffle over the weekend in Los Angeles. Jenner was injured while trying to break up a fight at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, according to TMZ.

The fight took place early Sunday morning between an unknown woman and Lavigne. Law enforcement sources say that hotel security broke up the altercation and that Jenner and several others were detained. Police have listed Jenner as a victim in the scuffle. Also according to the report, Jenner was the only one involved who spoke to police; Lavigne and the others had already left by the time investigators arrived. The site also posted a photo of Jenner sporting a head injury. Both Jenner and Lavigne addressed the reports on their respective Twitter accounts.

“I don’t fight. I don’t believe in it. To clear things up, I got attacked by 5 people last night out of nowhere. Not cool. My face is f—ed,” Lavigne tweeted. “As in black eye, bloody nose, hair ripped out, scratches, bruises and cuts. So not ok to be abusive to others. Violence is NEVER the answer.”

Jenner also used the social networking site to open up about his injuries. “Interesting Saturday night … Just got of the hospital with a new scar on my face. Charges/chargers!!!” he wrote.

In a tweet posted before the fight, Jenner seemed more optimistic about his time hanging out with Lavigne. “Having the best night with the love of my life @AvrilLavigne so happy right now!! … #Movember CRUSH!! Haha,” he wrote, tweeting a photo of himself with Lavigne.

When contacted by MTV News, reps for the LAPD and the Roosevelt had no further information on the report. Reps for Jenner and Lavigne had not responded to MTV News’ requests for comment by press time.

On Monday morning (November 7), Lavigne seemed to be nursing her wounds. “Thank you @EvanT for coming over to visit me today and bringing me a hello kitty ice pack. I’m so lucky to have a friend like you,” she said in an update.

This isn’t the first time Jenner has been in a highly publicized bar fight. Back in August 2009, Jenner and then girlfriend Jayde Nicole got into a bar fight with “Girls Gone Wild” creator Joe Francis.

National Metal Day 11.11.11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a reminder, the countdown to National Metal Day is on!  If you’re not familiar with this day, that’s okay, you probably shouldn’t be as its a day declared by VH1 Classic.  However, we love metal here at Raw Talent Guitar, and in the hopes of springing a new generation of beginning guitar playing, headbanging maniacs, we fully support the cause.
Here is an article from USA Today about the holiday:

We’re inching closer to 11/11/11, which is significant not just because it sounds cool, but because the folks at VH1 Classic have declared it “National Metal Day.” (Perplexed? Think Spinal Tap‘s “These go to 11″ …)

The channel is filling the day with metal programming, and even if I weren’t on a quest to learn more about metal I’d tune in.

The festivities actually start Nov. 8 with a marathon of metal concerts, from Sonisphere 2011 to MTV World Stage: KISS. (Wait — is KISS considered metal? Can we debate this in the comments?)

On Nov. 9 the channel airs the DVR-worthy Metal Mania: The Greatest Metal Videos Ever A to Z. I wonder if Warrant‘s Cherry Pie ranks in there somewhere …

Finally, on Nov. 11 tune in for classic metal movies like the awesome Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, The Decline of Western Civilization and the aforementioned Spinal Tap. The evening lineup includes Behind the Music Remastered: Megadeth (9 p.m. ET), the premiere of the documentary series Metal Evolution (10 ET) and That Metal Show‘s season premiere (11 ET).

Is that enough metal for you? Don’t forget you can watch full eps of That Metal Show on VH1 Classic’s site.

Ace Frehley’s Book is Out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ace Frehley, Tommy Iommi, Rudy Sarzo – what do they have in common? Well, what’s an aging rocker to do but write a book. Ace Frehley’s book, No Regrets, is out this week for those of you looking forward to catching up on your Kisstory. Or just read it if you’re tired of watching Gene Simmons Family Jewels (like me).

Ace is one of our favorites so we’re giving him a shout here at Raw Talent Guitar – do you think Ace would learn like a beginner with us if he were a young spaceman today?

Of course!

Learn to Play the Guitar Solo for Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

Watch the video HERE

Easily one of the best songs to learn as a beginner, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana lives on to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time. Coming off the 20th year anniversary of the album Nevermind, we at Raw Talent Guitar decided to kick off our song instructional course with a two-part video series for this hit song.

Look for a new instructional song each week. Last week, we gave you the guitar lesson video for the intro, verse and chorus, and this week we’ll teach you how to play the solo from “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

The solo is perfect for beginner guitar players up to advanced.

Let Us Know What You Think.

Spoiler Alert!!

Remember this old thing? Someone decided to give us all the answers.

Finally!

FULL SIZE!

Metallica Cancelled & Riot Ensues

Metallica is one of the biggest live acts in the world, and when they cancel a concert it causes an uproar. To be fair, the concert was cancelled due to a lack of permits, but to the fans, well, you watch the video and see how they feel!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Raw Talent Guitar – please enjoy this fun video for the holiday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beavis and Butthead Banned from Watching Certain Videos

We are stoked about the return of Beavis and Butthead here at Raw Talent Guitar. Sure they only play air guitar and can sure use some lessons, but one thing we could count on is their awesome wit as they critique music videos. Well, we used to anyway. Here’s what Mike Judge said in an interview about why the boys watch Jersey Shore more than Kanye West:

The biggest update has come in which videos Beavis and Butt-Head offer their “This rocks”/”This sucks” commentary on: It’s now largely clips from reality shows like Jersey Shore and Cuff’d. This is less because of shifting cultural mores and more because the show is now required to get advance permission to lampoon a music video. “It used to be that we could do anything,” Judge says, sighing. “Now we have to clear everything. We were going to do a Kanye West video – he wanted it on, and then somebody who owns, like, six percent of the songwriting said no.”

See the entire article at Rolling Stone.

Here are the boys in action in a video preview:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Guitar Player of the Week

Raw Talent Guitar wants everyone who has an interest in learning guitar to stay motivated, keep learning, and have fun of course.  As for me, I wanted to learn guitar when I first heard Randy Rhodes amazing play on the Blizzard of Ozz album (ok, it was a cassette tape).  There’s no better motivation for aspiring guitarists than to watch those who came before us and learn from their techniques.

In this spirit we give you the Friday Guitar Player of the Week – Randy Rhodes.

Randy started young and formed Quiet Riot with Kevin Dubrow (vocals), Kelly Garni (bass), and Drew Forsyth (drums).  The band limped along, releasing two albums in Japan, when Randy was asked to audition for Ozzy Ozbourne’s new band.  Famously, he got the gig on the spot when Ozzy listened to him tuning up and getting loose.  He didn’t even get a chance to play.

The interesting part about Randy was his ability to mix classical and metal together in his own way – absolutely amazing play, as you can see in the clip.  Randy died in a plane crash during a tour with Ozzy at the age of 25, and very little video exists of him unfortunately.  For you beginners out there, Randy used a pretty simple mix of equipment and effects to get that great sound – don’t think its about the gear, its about the player!

Watch, and enjoy (look for another of our favorites in the video, Rudy Sarzo on bass)…